A Little Game of Cat and Mouse
by silversapphire
Summary: Two girls invade New York looking for a little excitement and they find newsies! (It may end up romantic, I'm not sure.)
1. Intro

Note: I created Cat and Mouse; they belong to me, and you can't have them…well, maybe if you were to ask nice I might let you (NOT!).  
  
I also own the Newsies…ALL OF THEM…yes I do…MUAHAAAAHAAAHA…(ok maybe I don't maybe Disney owns them and I'm in denial)…*sigh*…oh well…I guess I'll just have to write fanfic instead and pretend that I own them  
  
  
  
Okay first are introductions of my characters:  
  
1.1 Cat  
  
Full Name: Katherine O'Dell  
  
Occupation: Pickpocket, Thief, and Cat Burglar  
  
Family: Dead  
  
Background: Cat's family was from Atlanta, GA. She and her mother and father had gone to Boston to visit her father's family, but while they were there her parents were killed. Bill Grady, leader of a Boston gang of thieves, found Cat wandering on the streets at approximately ten years old just after her parents died. Grady trained her and raised her. She was taught to pick pockets, and break into houses.  
  
Personality: Sarcastic, rude and tough. She likes poker, cigarettes, and boys, in that order. She doesn't play fair if she can get away with it.  
  
Mouse:  
  
Full Name: Molly (no last name)  
  
Occupation: No one knows  
  
Family: Unknown but due to her physical make-up it is easy to see that Mouse is of partial Native American descent  
  
Background: She and Cat met one day on the streets of Boston when Mouse snuck up on Cat in an alley. They became friends and protected one another. She lives in an orphanage. Cat named her Mouse because she is as quiet as a mouse. Her life before she met Cat was filled with nothing but the orphanage; she has no memory of ever having had a family.  
  
Personality: She doesn't talk to anyone except Cat. She's the closest thing Cat has to a conscience.  
  
2 For my other original characters: Smarts and Dodger, you can read their fic: Smarts and Dodger. Or you can just read this one and pretend you know who they are. 


	2. A Funeral and An Eviction

1 Chapter 1 – A Funeral and an Eviction  
  
2 January 1900 – Boston  
  
Rain pounded down on the solitary girl as she stood beside an open grave and watched the cheap casket being lowered into the ground. She was seventeen years old with red hair and green eyes. She had a full-figure like many women of her time but stood taller than most women and some men. Her name was Katherine 'Cat' O'Dell.  
  
The man that had been her mentor for the last eight years was in that box but try as she might she felt no sympathy – no emotion what so ever. Bill Grady was dead, killed by his right hand man. That was the way it went in this business; you either watch your back or you were dead. There was no honor among thieves. But that still didn't make it right.  
  
As the casket reached the bottom of the grave, Cat turned and walked away, she had done what she had seen as her duty. He may have been a slimy weasel but she owed it to him to see that he was taken care of in the end. She had come out of a sense of duty; he had saved her life and given her a place to stay for the last eight years. Now that she had seen him safely buried underground she had fulfilled that duty and headed back to the only home she had ever known: a thieves' den in the heart of Boston. As she walked into the underground hideout, all talking and movement halted. When she was recognized everyone went back to work sorting through their new 'found' goods.  
  
Cat went to a partitioned corner and changed out of her skirt into a pair of pants. She detested skirts and only wore them when work or duty called for them. In this case it had been duty. She walked out into the main part of the room.  
  
"Well, hello, there Kitty Cat," one slimy looking thief said. He was a disgusting looking man named Jim Harvey. He had been Bill Grady's second-in- command until three days before when he had stabbed Bill in the back, literally. "Where have you been?"  
  
"Bill's funeral," she said, defiantly. Another hush fell over the room; everyone waited to see what Jim's reaction would be.  
  
"You wasted a whole day on that! I hope you have something of value for me," he said.  
  
"No, I have nothing for you. I won't steal for a nasty worm like you. You're a bastard and you're a killer," she said in a disgusted tone. The room went completely still as everyone waited to see Jim's reaction. Jim's eyes hardened and he slapped her brutally across the face, snapping her head to the side. She turned back to face him, her gaze still rebellious.  
  
"I suggest you run, little girl. You run far and you run fast, because if I ever catch you around here again, then I will kill you, but not before I have a little fun with you. Now get off my turf," Jim commanded in a sinister voice. "Don't bother trying to collect your things, nothing here belongs to you. You're lucky I'm letting you take the clothes on your back."  
  
Cat stood there and considered defying him and gathering her things, but she had never had anything worth more than a couple of cents. With one last look at the dump that had been home for thirteen years, Cat turned and walked out the door.  
  
***  
  
Later that night after the rain had finally stopped, Cat walked down an alley between two run down buildings. She looked left and right as if searching for someone.  
  
"Mouse? Are you here?" she called out. "Come on out, Mouse. I know you're here."  
  
A small figure materialized at her elbow.  
  
"Oh, there you are Mouse! Where were you?" Cat demanded. The girl just smiled.  
  
At five foot two Mouse was eight inches shorter than Cat. She had black hair and eyes, and along with her skin tone and high cheekbones it was obvious that one of her parents had been an Indian. Cat had nicknamed her Mouse because she was as quiet as one, she could walk almost silently and she rarely spoke. In fact the only person she talked to was Cat.  
  
"So, Mouse, what have you been doing lately?" Cat asked, realizing that she wouldn't get an answer from the girl about where she had been hiding.  
  
"Hiding from Ms. Beasley. You?" Mouse asked. Ms. Beasley was the woman who ran the orphanage that Mouse lived in.  
  
"Went to Bill's funeral. I was the only one there. When I went back to that hole, Jim kicked me out and told me to leave town. I guess I might as well, nothing for me here," Cat answered with a shrug. She paused then continued, "You want to come with me?"  
  
Mouse thought for a minute and then slowly nodded her head. There was nothing left for her in Boston. The orphanage was run like so many of those unfortunate establishments, corruptly. The children had hardly any food to eat and what they got was old, moldy and watered-down.  
  
"Where do you want to go?"  
  
Mouse shrugged.  
  
"How about New York? I've heard good things about it," Cat told her, a harsh glint coming to her eyes. Mouse nodded her head. "I just need to find Ashes. He'll want to come with us."  
  
***  
  
Cat and Mouse walked down another alley several blocks away.  
  
"Ashes! Come on out. It's us. We're going to New York wanna come?" Cat suddenly heard a rumbling noise to her right. Standing on a small stack of crates was Ashes. The dark gray tomcat stood there looking at her condescendingly.  
  
"Hey there, buddy. I got you a piece of tuna," she said, pulling the scrap out of her pocket. "Here you go."  
  
The cat bounded down from the boxes and began to tear into the piece of fish. Cat stroked his coat while he ate. "So are you coming with us? Do you want to try out New York?"  
  
The cat butted his head against her hand, seeming to agree to go. The three of them walked out of the alley and down the street for one last look at Boston. 


	3. New York, New York

1 Chapter 2  
  
Cat sat looking out of the door of a freight car on a New York bound train. Mouse was asleep against the wall of the car with Ashes snuggled against her. They of course hadn't had the money for a ticket and Mouse had refused to let Cat steal it, so they had hopped a freight train in Boston and were making their way to New York.  
  
As the train began to slow down for its entrance into the city, Cat woke Mouse up and they got ready to get off of the train. As they entered the rail yards and the train came to a stop. Just after the train came to a stop Mouse jumped down Cat handed her Ashes then follow her down. Unnoticed they slunk out of the yard and into the city of New York. It was before sunrise and people had not yet begun to stir from their houses.  
  
"So let's see about getting some money, so we can get some breakfast," Cat suggested to Mouse. "I know I can steal something easily, I just have to pick the best victim."  
  
Mouse glared at her and shook her head.  
  
"Well, how else are we going to get money?" Cat asked indignantly.  
  
Mouse just looked at her and said, "Get jobs, like other people."  
  
"Get jobs? I'm not working in any factory," Cat said harshly.  
  
"Some other kind."  
  
Cat sighed. "Alright we'll see what we can find."  
  
So the two girls walked down the streets of New York looking for work that didn't involve factories. Cat refused to work in a factory. She had heard stories about the factories. People lost fingers in factories. They could get injured or even be killed in factory accidents.  
  
They wandered around the city and just as the sun was starting to rise they reached a square with a statue in the middle.  
  
"Horace Greeley: Journalist and Publisher" Cat said. She looked at Mouse and shrugged.  
  
"Let's take a rest," Cat suggested, her feet weren't tired yet but it would be good to get their bearings a little bit. They sat at the statue's feet and rested for a few minutes, Ashes took the opportunity to give himself a bath. Suddenly out of almost nowhere twenty to thirty boys raced into the square singing, dancing and hollering. The girls watched in amazement as the boys danced and sang together. They stopped in front of a large gate, seemingly waiting for them to open.  
  
"Who're they?" Cat asked of no one in particular.  
  
"They're newsies," said a voice from the girl's left. They whipped around to see who was there. It was a small dirty little girl. She wore a shirt covered in stains and a threadbare skirt with rips, tatters, and more stains.  
  
"And you are…" Cat asked.  
  
"I'm the Dodger, I'm a newsie just like those boys. I can introduce you to them, all the girls want to be introduce them to the boys," she offered.  
  
"That's okay, sugar. We were just wondering. Thanks anyway," Cat answered with a laugh. The girl shrugged and walked over to the newsies and began to talk with a few of them.  
  
Mouse suddenly began to point at the group and then back at the two of them.  
  
"What, Mousy? Are you saying we can do that?" Cat asked. Mousy was a nickname Cat had given her years ago to be annoying. At Mouse's nod Cat continued. "Why would we want to be newsies?"  
  
Mouse looked at her and rolled her eyes. "It's an honest, non-factory job.  
  
"But we don't know anything about being newsies," Cat protested as the gates opened and the newsies streamed in. "How are we just going to become newsies?"  
  
"Follow one." Mouse suggested.  
  
"Which one are we going to follow?" Cat asked sounding upbeat about the idea for the first time. The prospect of following someone excited her. That had been her favorite part of her former job and she was good at it. Plus the fact that most of the boys were cute was an added bonus. Both girls thought for a moment.  
  
"I know," Cat said. "We should pick the one with the most papers, because that probably means he knows how to sell the best. I mean these guys wouldn't want to waste their money."  
  
The newsies started to come back out and the girls watched to see who had how many papers.  
  
"That one," Cat said. "The one with the cowboy hat and the bandanna. He looks like he's got more that most."  
  
  
  
**Author's Note: Thanks to Rae Kelly for the review. Any other reviews are welcome (hint! hint! hint!) I love reviews! 


	4. Learning from the Best

1 WOW it took me a LONG time to update! I had the worst case of writer's block ever and it still hasn't disappeared. This is a really short chapter but I should have more soon…Thanks to Rae Kelly and amazing-moth for reviewing!  
  
2  
  
3 Chapter 3  
  
The girl started out after the boy sticking close enough to here him but far enough away so that he couldn't see them. Eventually two more boys joined him. One was close to their age with curly brown hair and the other was younger and carried a small wooden sword. The older one carried an armload of papers.  
  
"Hey, Jack," the younger one said. "You ready to sell some papes?"  
  
"Sure thing, Les. How about you?" the boy answered.  
  
"I'm always ready," the kid answered with a smile.  
  
"Ok, then let's go," Jack said. He handed the Les a small handful of papes and said, "Here ya go, and here's your papes."  
  
As the kid scampered off Cat looked at Mouse and nodded toward him. Mouse nodded back and headed off after him while Cat and Ashes followed the other two.  
  
As Cat watched the older boys walked through a crowd yelling out headlines. The boy called Jack yelled, "Extry, extry, Hundreds Die in Tenement Fire!"  
  
"Where's that one, Jack?" the other boy asked.  
  
"Page 6," he answered. The other boy looked the story up.  
  
"Deserted Tenement Burns Killing Hundreds of Rats," he mumbled, shaking his head. Cat realized that the boy called Jack had made up the interesting headline from a boring one. She followed the boys around for the rest of the morning. The younger one would come back every once in awhile and get more papes then run off to sell them. They sold like that all day before eventually stopping to for lunch at a restaurant called Tibby's. The girls went to the square to discuss what they had learned.  
  
"Well, what did the little one do all day?" Cat asked.  
  
"He got sympathy," Mouse told her.  
  
"The older ones made up interesting headlines from boring ones," Cat answered. "There's really nothing to this newsie thing. All they do is lie. We can definitely do this."  
  
"I'm hungry. You?"  
  
"Oh, Ashes and I had a snack about an hour ago. I'm not really hungry," Cat told her. "You go ahead and get something.  
  
"How did you get food?" Mouse asked suspiciously.  
  
"How do you think I got it?" Cat asked, raising one eyebrow.  
  
Mouse glared at her. "No stealing!"  
  
"Alright, alright, I forgot. I won't steal from now on, unless it's necessary," Cat told her. "And don't ask for anything else, cause that's all you're going to get."  
  
Finally Mouse nodded her acceptance.  
  
As Mouse agreed Cat lit a cigarette. Mouse wrinkled her nose at the cigarette and waved the air around her face. Cat just smiled.  
  
"Let's go get you something to eat," she said with a laugh and with that they disappeared into the city.  
  
  
  
  
  
That's all for now in the meantime…any and all reviews are accepted. 


	5. A Goodnight for Stargazing

1 A/N: Well, here's another chapter, I'm not sure if it's any good…my writer's block is not just the stop of ideas but it's also the stop of good ideas! Anyway here's another chapter! Thanks to Emily (romance may come…not sure yet…I'll let you know) amazing-moth (well, it's a little longer, thanks for ALL your reviews on all my fics…you're the best!)  
  
2 Chapter 4  
  
"Okay, Mousy, we need to find ourselves a place to sell these papers," Cat told her partner the next morning. They had bought their papers from a distribution wagon in an area where they were less likely to be noticed. "I say we go to this Brooklyn place cause everywhere else seems to have too many newsies already. From what I heard Brooklyn is big place, maybe no one will notice us."  
  
"Sounds good," Mouse agreed.  
  
They stopped by a small fruit vendor and asked him how exactly they could get to Brooklyn. They finally found their way across the bridge and decided to set up shop on a corner that had decent foot traffic. Before long the papers were selling rapidly. The girls utilized the tactics that they had seen displayed by the newsies the day before, though Mouse of course did so silently.  
  
They had just sold their last paper when a boy carrying an armload of papers walked up to them and said, "What do you think you're doing?"  
  
They looked disdainfully at the boy. He was a freckle-faced boy with blond hair, not much more than thirteen years old. They glared at him until finally Cat asked, "What's it look like we're doing?"  
  
"It looks like your selling papes in my selling territory." He tried to intimidate Cat by glaring at her, but since she was two inches taller than he was he failed miserably.  
  
"Well, I didn't see your name on this 'territory,' Yank. So back off," she told him putting her hands on her hips.  
  
"What did you call me?" he asked.  
  
"You got hearing problems? I called ya a Yank. You know as in Yankee. Now get lost, before a give you a whipping you won't forget," she threatened.  
  
Finally realizing that he was not going to intimidate her the boy turned and left, but first he told her, "I'm going to tell Spot about this and he'll straighten you two out."  
  
"Okay you do that," Cat told him with a role of her eyes. She turned back to Mouse and said, "Let's go find us some food and a place to spend the night."  
  
***  
  
"SPOT! SPOT!" River yelled at the top of his lungs, tearing through the Brooklyn Lodging House. "Spot, where are you?"  
  
"I'm here. I'm here. What do you want?" Spot asked, grumpily. He had not had a good day selling.  
  
"There was some one selling in my territory today," he whined.  
  
"Who was it?" Spot sighed. His newsies were so territorial. He hated dealing with these little squabbles.  
  
"A couple of girls!"  
  
"Girls! We don't have any newsgirls in Brooklyn."  
  
"I know! I've never seen them before."  
  
"Well what did they look like?"  
  
"One was a giant of a redhead and the other was short with black hair."  
  
"A giant?" Spot asked skeptically.  
  
"Well, maybe not a giant but definitely taller than you or me," he clarified.  
  
"Hey, I heard that Manhattan has a couple of new newsies, maybe they're with them and just haven't learned the rules yet," another newsie suggested.  
  
"Well, we're having that poker game next week. I'll ask Jack then, until I talk to Jack you just leave them alone, okay River?" Spot said. He waited for River to agree. "Okay, River?"  
  
"Okay, Spot, okay," the newsie responded reluctantly.  
  
***  
  
"Cat, where are we going to sleep, tonight?" Mouse asked quietly.  
  
"I don't know. We can't really afford a boarding house, or anything and it's too dangerous to sleep on the streets like we did last night."  
  
While Cat and Mouse stood on the sidewalk thinking a boy walked by carrying a few newspapers, muttering to himself. "Stupid bad headlines gotta eat five whole papes."  
  
Cat and Mouse looked at each other and smiled. They began to follow him silently down the street. He reached a building with a sign that read, "Brooklyn Newsboy Lodging House" and walked inside. Cat and Mouse stopped a building down from the lodging house and watched him go inside.  
  
They were just about to go in and see about a place to stay when suddenly the boy that had confronted them earlier in day come stomping out. He was also muttering under his breath and he stopped to kick at an empty crate. Cat and Mouse ducked down a near-by alley.  
  
"Well, that's that. We can't stay there," Mouse whispered.  
  
"I don't know about that," Cat said. Mouse followed Cat's stare to the fire escape that led to roof of the lodging house. "It's an awfully warm night. Good night for star-gazing."  
  
Mouse smiled and the two of them headed for the roof. They reached the top and looked around, it was obvious that the newsies had come up here to party. The rooftop was covered in beer bottles and cigarette and cigar butts.  
  
"Well, it sure is homey, don't you think?" Cat said sarcastically. Mouse rolled her eyes. They set about to clean up. Cat grabbed what appeared to be an old potato sack and threw all the beer bottles in it while Mouse found something to sweep up the cigarette and cigar butts. (A/N: I couldn't think of anything, so it was just something!)  
  
They finally got the roof straightened up enough that they could sleep there and found a place to sleep on the far side of the roof so that they were as far as possible from the fire escape. That way there was less of a chance of someone sneaking up on them.  
  
They laid down a few feet apart looking up at the stars and Cat fell asleep thinking of home. 


	6. A Bit of Eavesdropping

A/N: Okay I'm still writing under the shadow of my last fic…in other words, we're still covering ground I covered before, but don't worry, I've got all new fresh material starting with the sixth or seventh chapter…thanks to those who reviewed: amazing-moth – thanks and tell me what you think of this chapter and AthenaHunteress – thank you sooo much! I love that you put me in your story! (Everyone should read it! It's called "And the world will know!)  
  
Chapter Five  
  
For the new newsgirls the next week went smoothly; they were selling papers so fast that they were through with the morning edition long before the afternoon edition came out. The boy that had bothered them the first day hadn't shown his face again. Cat figured he had seen that they weren't going to just give up because he said they should. Mouse figured he was waiting to come back when they least expected it.  
  
The girls waited until dark to go back to the lodging house every night. The last thing they needed was to get caught by one of the Brooklyn newsies while they were climbing up to their new home. The girls spent a large portion of their time spying on the newsies. They had gotten to know which newsies lived in the lodging house and when they left in the morning. These Brooklyn newsies were as boisterous as the Manhattan ones.  
  
One night about a week after they had first gotten to New York, Cat wanted to stop in a store but Mouse continued on her way to the lodging house. When Cat caught up with her she was stopped one building down from the lodging house looking at it.  
  
When Cat got there she realized why. The lodging house was lit up and all kinds of voices were yelling at one another from inside the building.  
  
"What's going on?" Cat asked.  
  
"From what I can tell they're having a party with all the newsies in all of New York."  
  
"And they didn't invite us?" Cat joked, then got serious. "Well, let's just go on up the fire escape."  
  
"No, that little girl we met the first day is sitting on the other side of the stoop. She'll see us."  
  
The two girls stood there and waited for the younger girl to go inside. They were about to give up and find somewhere else to sleep for the night when the door opened and two boys walked out. The first was the one they had followed on their first day and the second was a boy they recognized as living in the lodging house. The one the other newsies called Spot. They stopped on the stoop and began talking seriously. The girls eavesdropped.  
  
"So, Spot, what's did you want to talk to me about?" the boy they had followed asked.  
  
"Well, Jackie-boy, I need to ask you. Do you have any new newsies living with you in Manhattan?"  
  
"Yeah, I got a couple. A girl and a boy that came in a couple of weeks ago," Jack said. "Why?"  
  
"Well, it seems that there are a couple of new girl newsies that are poaching on my territory. Could one of these girls be your girl?"  
  
"No, I sell with Dodger everyday. Except one day last week that she sold with Race and went to the track with him. What do the poachers look like?"  
  
"Well, River had a run in with them a couple of days ago. One was a tall redhead and the other was a short brunette. Both of them were wearing pants."  
  
The girls looked at each other, these boys were talking about them.  
  
"I know who you're talking about!" the little girl on the other side of the stoop exclaimed, standing up. "I saw them a week or so ago."  
  
"You know who Spot's talking about, Dodger?" the taller boy asked.  
  
"Yeah, I saw them at the square a few weeks ago. I even talked to them," she told them with a grin.  
  
"What did you say to them?" the boy called Spot asked her.  
  
The girl described their encounter briefly.  
  
"Can you tell us anything else about them?"  
  
The girl went on to describe Cat's accent.  
  
"Sounds like she was from the south," Jack commented to Spot.  
  
"That would go along with what River said. He told me she called him a Yankee." Turning back to Dodger he asked, "What about the other one? Did she talk like that too?"  
  
"She didn't talk at all, but I noticed that she looked a little like those people in your book about Santa Fe, Jack."  
  
The boys soon figured out that Mouse was Native American or as they would have said Indian.  
  
"They also have a cat, a big gray cat," Dodger told them. "At least it was there with them the day I saw them and it left with them when they followed you, Jack."  
  
"Wait, they followed me, when did they follow me?"  
  
"The day that I saw them. They were sitting on the statue looking at everybody then the tall one pointed at you and then they jumped down and followed you," she told him.  
  
"Why were they following you, Jackie Boy?" Spot asked.  
  
"I don't know, Spot. I guess they just liked what they saw," he said with a grin. The girls looked one another again this time to roll their eyes.  
  
Spot laughed, "Whatever. Anyway, so now that I know something about my poachers."  
  
"What are you going to do about them?" Jack asked.  
  
"I'm gonna wait and see if they plan to take over more territory or stick to the little bit they've got. If they stick with what they've got then it's no skin off my back but if they expand, then I'll have to tell them to get lost."  
  
"Sounds like a good idea, Spot," Jack told him. "Is there anything else you wanted to talk to me about?"  
  
"No, not really, but I may be stopping by Manhattan in a few days, just to check up on you boys."  
  
"Well, you know you're always welcome to stop by our place anytime." Having finished their discussion the three headed back inside the lodging house.  
  
The girls then went to the fire escape and climbed up to their rooftop home. They sat down in the corner they slept in.  
  
"What should we do, Cat?" Mouse asked.  
  
"Nothing. Didn't you hear that Spot guy; he'll leave us alone if we leave them alone, so that's all we have to do. Now go to sleep."  
  
  
  
Another A/N: now that you have enjoyed the fruits of my labor get out there and review! 


	7. A Couple of Visits

A/N: another chapter up! Yay! Ok thanks for the reviews amazing-moth and AthenaHunteress: you guys are great! This chapter is the last one that contains anything used in Smarts and Dodger…so it's gone completely independent! Yay, again!  
  
Chapter Six  
  
The next morning Cat woke up to the rattling of a can. She looked up and spotted the girl from the night before, the one they had met the first day. Both she and Mouse were suddenly awake and alert.  
  
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Cat asked, defensively.  
  
"I'm just looking for a place to be alone," the girl said sullenly. "Hey, you're the girls Spot and Jack were talking about last night."  
  
"They were talking about us?" Cat asked, already knowing the truth.  
  
"Yeah, you guys are poaching on Spot's territory."  
  
"Who's Spot?"  
  
"He's the leader of the Brooklyn newsies."  
  
"So, he's your boss?" Cat said trying to milk information out of the girl.  
  
"No, I'm a Manhattan newsie. Jack is the leader of the Manhattan newsies," the girl explained.  
  
"Well, then why are you here, if you don't live here?"  
  
"Brooklyn hosted an all-night poker game. Everyone stays here afterwards and then gets up and goes selling in their own neighborhood. In fact I better go back down and see if the boys are ready to go. Do you guys want to come?"  
  
"Uh, no, but can you do us a favor?" Cat asked bringing out her sugary sweet voice.  
  
"Sure, what?"  
  
"Don't tell anyone you saw us, okay?"  
  
"Okay, but why?"  
  
"Well, we don't want anyone to know we're here. Now you better hurry before those boys leave you behind," Cat jumped in to stop any more questions.  
  
"Yeah I better go, bye."  
  
"Bye," she said with a sigh. Then turning to her silent friend she added. "That was close. We better get out of here, before anyone else finds us."  
  
With that the two of them hopped onto the fire escape and climbed down. They disappeared into the city.  
  
***  
  
Later that afternoon they had just finished selling their afternoon papers when the newsie they had met their first day of selling came up. He was once again holding a large amount of papers.  
  
"What do you want?" Cat asked with a sneer.  
  
"I don't know what you girls did to or with Spot to get him to let you sell here, but it worked. Don't think it'll hold though. Spot gets tired of his girls pretty quick and then you'll have to go peddle wares elsewhere. Both your papes and your slightly more used ones as well," the boy said with a sneer.  
  
Cat said two words that rhyme with pluck ewe and Mouse gave him the appropriate hand gesture. He glared at them and continued on his way.  
  
Cat looked at Mouse and told her, "That's the first time I've been accused of having sex with someone I've never met, how about you?"  
  
"Yep," Mouse replied.  
  
  
  
A/N: okay that's the end of this chapter…now get out there and review…I live for reviews!  
  
Another thing I want to know if you guys (aka my readers) want this fic to turn romantic…I'm not sure if it's leading in that direction or not, so tell me if you think there is room for romance in this fic…I want your input 


	8. A Present for Spot

Author's Note: Well, it's been a few days since I've written, but well, I've had a lot going on lately what with finals drawling closer and everything. Anyway…thanks to Rae Kelly for her review…any others would be expectable as well from other people (and Rae too of course (!) So if anyone wants to drop me a line just hit that little button!  
  
Chapter Seven  
  
The girls continued to sell newspapers every day and sneak to the top of the lodging house every night. They kept out of the way of the other newsies and fell into a daily routine. Their lives continued on a normal path for several weeks. They had dinner from a sidewalk vendor and headed down to river where they every evening until the sun went down. They watched the sun set and threw rocks into the river; finally they would decide it was time to head back to lodging house for the night.  
  
After a few days in Brooklyn they had discovered a shortcut to the lodging house through an alley. They were headed back to the lodging house one day when suddenly Mouse stopped in her tracks. Cat almost ran into her.  
  
"What are you doing?" Cat demanded.  
  
Mouse pointed ahead of them. Standing their taking blocking the path were several older boys and young men. They blocked them off completely and when Cat turned around there were more behind her. They were trapped in the alley by close to ten men and boys. Cat could fight but not that well.  
  
"Can I help you?" Cat asked, trying to keep the upper hand. One of the older ones stepped forward, obviously the leader.  
  
"Yes, you can tell your boss that if I see another one of his newsies walking through my territory then I'll kill them instead of giving them a bad soaking, I don't care if they are girls."  
  
"We didn't realize we were in your territory." Cat said hurrying to get them out of trouble.  
  
The man sneered at her and slapped her hard across the face. "Not you, you stupid bitch. Now give this present to Spot Conlon. Tell him it's from Sean O'Reilly."  
  
He snapped his fingers and another member of the group brought forward a large bundle and dropped it brutally to the ground. The group then slipped away into the night.  
  
"What is that, Cat?" Mouse asked. A feeling of dread filled Cat; she had an idea she knew what it was. Instead of answering Cat bent over the bundle and rolled into over. Sure enough a bloody, scraped face stared up at her, even with the eyes closed and the face bruised it was easy enough to identify the young girl newsie they had met on the first day.  
  
"Oh, what have they done?" Mouse asked, horrified. Still silent Cat picked the girl up gently and cradled her in her arms.  
  
"What are you going to do, Cat? We can't take care of her, not properly."  
  
Cat continued on towards the lodging house. "I'm taking her to the newsies. They can help her."  
  
"Do you think that's safe?" Mouse asked. "For us?"  
  
"Who cares? She needs help and she needs it now." Cat walked the rest of the way to the lodging house in silence. She stopped only when she reached the front door of the building so that Mouse could open it. She stepped over the threshold and saw that the room was filled with newsies.  
  
  
  
A/N: I know it was short but I've got longer ones coming up soon, but bad news I'm not posting the next chapter until at least 4 people (different people) review…yes I am willing to resort to threats if I don't get my way! I want to know what you guys think and please give me an answer about the question in the last chapter…I need help here! 


	9. The Doctor's Visit

A/N: Well, it's a little longer than the last one. There's a little foreshadowing in this chapter, see if you can catch on. Thanks for the reviews you guys: Rae Kelly: um, maybe later, okay? Irish Fury: Not too bad was it? Hedwig: Really? I'm so honored! AthenaHunteress: here you go!  
  
Chapter Eight  
  
The room came to a stop when they saw her and what she was carrying.  
  
"I need to see Spot Conlon," she demanded. No one in the room moved. "Now!"  
  
Her shout bounced off the walls. One newsie found the courage to point up the stairs. Cat headed up the stairs weighed down by her heavy bundle.  
  
"Spot Conlon, come out here now!" she shouted up the stairs. At the top of the stairs she stopped and glanced around. "SPOT CONLON!!"  
  
"What do you want?" a voice called from the left. "How many times do I have to tell you guys not to bother me when I've got a visitor?" His voice became quieter. "I think you better go on and get out of here. It sounds important, take the fire escape."  
  
Then Spot stuck his head out of the doorway. He looked at her, confused. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I need someone to help her." Cat told him. He finally noticed the person gripped in Cat's arms.  
  
"Is that Dodger? What did you do to her?" he asked.  
  
"I didn't touch her. She was given to me like this by someone who called himself Sean O'Reilly."  
  
"Oh, God. Bring her in here and lay her on the bed," Spot told her, moving out of the way. "I'll send someone after a doctor."  
  
Spot hurried down the stairs as Car laid the girl on the bed. She found a small basin and a pitcher of water on the table by the bed. She took it a cloth lying near-by and began to wash the blood off of Dodger. After a few minutes Spot came back into the room.  
  
"I sent one of my newsies to the doctor and another to her lodging house in Manhattan. I know Jack is probably worried sick over where she is. How did you find her?"  
  
"Me and Mouse were walking back to our place when out of nowhere we were surrounded by probably ten guys, all big bruisers. One of them told me to tell you that if any of your newsies were in his territory again they'd kill them not just soak them. He dropped her at our feet then left. He said to tell you she was a present from Sean O'Reilly."  
  
"That bastard. Picking on little kids."  
  
"What's he got against you?" she asked. "I mean this was obviously not just an attack on Dodger but one on you as well."  
  
"He hates me because I took over as leader of the Brooklyn newsies. He was in charge until about three years ago. He was a real tyrant and all the newsies hated him. When I came in I didn't take any crap from him and the others began to look to me for leadership. I gave it to them and eventually we threw Sean O'Reilly and his bunch out on the street." She could tell he was oversimplifying something that had to have taken a lot of effort. She was just about to ask him about it when a newsie burst into the room followed by an older man.  
  
"Spot, I brought the doc," the newsie said.  
  
"Thanks, Split. Go on downstairs and wait on Manhattan to get here."  
  
"Okay Spot."  
  
"Now what's the problem this time Spot?" the doctor asked. The newsies always called him when someone got hurt. He gave them free medical treatment and was glad to help out.  
  
"It's a new newsie, doc. Her name is Dodger and she got soaked, bad," Spot told him, pointing to the bed.  
  
"Oh, my," the doctor said bending over the young girl. He started to work cleaning her up and checking for broken bones. He found a knife wound on her arm and quickly stitched it up. Spot had had to leave for this part; it had made him light headed and he had almost passed out. Cat sat there and watched the girl, waiting to see if she would wake up.  
  
Finally the doctor had finished. "Well, I believe that she'll be alright. You'll need to make sure that she doesn't use that arm too much or she'll tear the stitches. What happed to her?"  
  
Cat relayed the incident to the doctor.  
  
"What was a girl this young doing out by herself in Sean O'Reilly's territory?" he asked looking expectantly at Cat. He knew about what O'Reilly did to anyone connected with Spot.  
  
"I don't know. I've only met her twice before. I understand that she's a Manhattan newsie."  
  
"Well she has no business being out by herself, let alone all the way over here in Brooklyn if she's from Manhattan."  
  
Cat nodded her agreement. "I think you'd need to talk to a boy named Jack Kelly as to why she's out by herself."  
  
"Don't worry I will." The doctor had finished packing his bag and said, "Why don't we go downstairs and let this young lady sleep peacefully?"  
  
Cat nodded and followed him from the room. She cast a look over her shoulder as she left; something about that girl touched her heart.  
  
  
  
A/N: Since my threat went so well let's try for five for this chapter! I really love reviews, the more the better!!! :) 


	10. The Desertion

A/N: Rae and Athena: thanks for the reviews!  
  
Chapter Nine  
  
Downstairs the Manhattan newsies had all come after the messenger Spot sent had told them that Dodger was hurt and in Brooklyn. They had been worried about her when they realized she was missing and now were even more so when they found out she was hurt. They were all pacing around the room waiting to hear the news. The Brooklyn newsies watched the Manhattanites; they had never seen them all this worried before.  
  
Jack had Spot in a corner interrogating him to see what he knew about this attack. Spot had told him all he knew, but Jack still want to know more.  
  
The two boys looked up when they heard footsteps on the stairs. When they saw the doctor coming down they rushed to him.  
  
"Doc, is she okay?"  
  
"Is she awake?"  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"Can we see her?"  
  
The doctor held up his hands to halt the flow of questions. "Slow down boys! To answer your questions: she'll be okay soon, she's not awake, I don't know what happened and you can see her in the morning. Dodger needs her rest for now. I want to talk to Jack and Spot alone for a few minutes if you please."  
  
Jack walked off with Spot and the doctor. He wanted to go check on Dodger; he felt it was his fault that she was hurt. He should have taken better care of her and watched out for her. He didn't know why she had gone off by herself at night.  
  
"Now, Jack I understand that this little girl is one of the Manhattan newsies, it that right?" the doctor asked.  
  
"Yeah, that's right."  
  
"Why did she come all the way over here from Manhattan by herself?"  
  
"I don't know, doc. We were sold together like we always do and nothing seemed different. When we got finished for the day, we went back to the lodging house for the night. I started playing poker with some of the other newsies and I wasn't paying no attention to her or the other little kids. Later it was time for bed and I noticed she wasn't in her bunk. I asked around to see where she was and no one knew. We started searching the place for her. We had just finished searching when Robin got to the house to tell us she was in Brooklyn."  
  
"Well, no matter how she got here, she's going to have to stay here until I say she can be moved. I'll stop by to check on her every couple of days. Take good care of her. She's going to hurt quite a bit when she wakes up. When she's back on her feet I want you to keep a better eye on her. Young children shouldn't be left to roam around on their own. I'll be back soon." Then, having left his instructions the doctor turned and walked out of the lodging house.  
  
"Well, Jackie-boy, it looks like she's staying here for awhile."  
  
"I guess so, Spot. If that's okay with you."  
  
"It's fine. Besides if I didn't let her stay here, the doc would have my head," Spot said with a laugh. "Now why don't you and your boys bunk down here for the night. No need in walking across the bridge this late."  
  
"Thanks, Spot, that's nice of you, especially since Dodger's already kicked you out of your room." They turned to tell the other newsies the plans for the night. Jack also wanted to talk to the girl that had brought Dodger in. He looked around the room but he couldn't find her.  
  
"Hey, where did the girl go?" Jack called out, walking over to the Manhattan newsies.  
  
"She left when the doc did," Race told him. "Who is she?"  
  
"She brought Dodger in." Spot explained.  
  
"She did that to Dodger! Why didn't you tell us? We won't have let her leave," Blink shouted. The other newsies muttered agreements.  
  
A newsie from the back of the room, who sounded suspiciously like River, shouted, "Let's go get her!"  
  
"Hold on guys, hold on. She brought her in, she rescued Dodger." Spot called out. "Just settle down."  
  
***  
  
Cat climbed up the fire escape. She hoped to find Mouse on the roof of the lodging house. Cat was worried about what had happened to her. One minute Mouse had been opening the door for her, the next Mouse was gone. She got to the rooftop and looked around. Mouse was sitting in the corner that they always occupied.  
  
"Mouse, where did you go?"  
  
"Cat, oh god, I was so worried about you. I thought you'd just drop the girl off and then come up here. When you didn't I thought those boys had gotten you. I was so worried."  
  
"I had to wait and make sure she was okay. I talked with the doctor and he said she's going to be fine if she's not moved for a while. I hope those boys take care of her."  
  
"What are you so worried about her for?" Mouse asked.  
  
"I don't know. She reminds me of someone."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
***  
  
The next morning Cat and Mouse woke up before the newsies below them and climbed down the fire escape. Half way down Cat stopped and peaked in a window.  
  
"What are you doing, Cat? You're gonna get us caught." Mouse hissed in protest.  
  
"I'm just checking on the kid. She's in this room. She looks okay and there's some boy asleep in the chair by her bed."  
  
"Great. Good. Now let's get a move on!" Mouse commanded.  
  
"All right. All right." They reached the street and head toward the distribution wagon they got their papers from every morning. They walked silently. They were a block away when Cat stopped and turned to Mouse.  
  
"I have to do something alone today. You go ahead and sell if you want or just take the day off. I have to run an errand."  
  
Mouse looked at her, confused. They hadn't been separated since they had gotten to New York. "Does this have something to do with that girl?"  
  
"No, it has nothing to do with Dodger. It's just something I've been meaning to do for awhile now." Having said that Cat took off, down the street in the opposite direction, leaving Mouse confused and worried.  
  
***  
  
Cat knew that Mouse was worried about her, but she had to do this. This was why she had come to New York in the first place.  
  
A/N: Okay another one down and so many more to come (I think). Until next time, don't stop carrying the banner and just remember: Headlines don't sell papes. Newsies sell papes! 


	11. Anger and Forgiveness

A/N: Thanks for the reviews you guys…here's a few responses…  
  
Rae: what's she up to? You'll see in the next chapter!  
  
Moth: Well, I was wondering where you had gotten of to…anyway, glad you liked my joke, yes I got my reviews, I'm not telling and…I'm not telling  
  
Ice Dancer: I'm not telling  
  
Athena: I posted so you'd better!  
  
Chapter Ten  
  
That night Cat climbed back up the fire escape and through the window of the lodging house. Dodger was lying in bed but looked up as Cat let herself in the room.  
  
"Hey, kiddo. How are you?" Cat asked.  
  
Dodger grinned up at her. "I'm okay, just a little sore. How are you?"  
  
"I'm good. When did you wake up?"  
  
"This morning. They said that a girl with red hair brought me in last night, was it you?"  
  
"Yep. I was glad to help out. What were you doing in that area by yourself that late anyway?"  
  
"Oh, I was looking for you."  
  
"Looking for me?" she asked astonished.  
  
"Yeah. I have a question I couldn't ask a boy, and you're the only girl I really know besides Jack's girlfriend Sarah, and well, she's just, I don't know she just bugs me." At that moment Cat heard steps outside the door.  
  
"Sorry, kid, you'll have to ask me later. I've gotta go." Cat slipped out the window and up the fire escape just as the door opened. Cat got to the roof and spotted Mouse sitting in the corner.  
  
"Hi, Mouse, how was your day?"  
  
"How was my day? How was my day?" Mouse repeated, fury covering her face. "You abandoned me to go off in the city by yourself. How could you do that? I've been worried about you all day long. I didn't know where you were or what you were doing! I can't believe you! Cat, how could you have left me by myself?"  
  
"Wow, not good I guess. That's the longest I've heard you talk since I met you." Cat said avoiding direct comments on anything Mouse had said. Cat then set about getting ready to go to sleep.  
  
"You're just going to go to sleep. I can't believe you. Where were you today?"  
  
"I'm sorry but I can't tell you. I'm sorry I left you alone all day today but tomorrow we'll go out and spend all day selling. Now I need to go to sleep, I'm exhausted." Cat lay down and turned on her side and soon drifted off into sleep with Ashes curled up beside her.  
  
***  
  
The next morning Cat work up just as the sun kissed the horizon and started a new day. She woke Mouse and the two of them got their papers and then headed towards their selling spot. They sold their papers quickly that morning and then went to find something to eat. They found some food and sat down on the sidewalk next to the gutter to eat.  
  
"So, Mouse, are you going to forgive me?" Cat asked.  
  
"Eventually," Mouse responded.  
  
"When?" Cat asked.  
  
"Not yet."  
  
Cat sighed and paused for a second then asked, "Now?"  
  
"Not yet."  
  
Cat sighed again and paused a little longer. "Now?"  
  
"No."  
  
Cat sighed again and then paused for a minute. "Now?"  
  
"NO!"  
  
Cat sighed again and waited five minutes without talking at all then asked, "Now?"  
  
Mouse sighed. "Yeah, I guess so."  
  
"Wow, I didn't think you'd cave that quickly. You must be going soft in your old age." Cat joked with a grin.  
  
"No, I'm just tired of all your whining."  
  
"I didn't whine. I bitched. There's a distinct difference."  
  
"Yeah, what's that?"  
  
"Little kids whine. I bitch."  
  
"Well I guess that makes sense. I mean you are a bitch so therefore you would bitch."  
  
"Are you calling me a bitch?"  
  
"Yeah, I am."  
  
"Whore."  
  
"Tramp."  
  
"Slut."  
  
"Ho."  
  
"Strumpet." At this insult, both girls broke out in giggles.  
  
  
  
A/N: Okay this last scene is for a friend of mine. This is how we treat each other, all the time. Yes, I did say friend…we like being mean to each other…anyway here's another chapter in the fic that seems like it will never end…tell me what you think! 


	12. Discovered

A/N: Ok…another chapter down…thanks for the reviews you guys! Responses:  
  
Ice Dancer: Thanks for the encouragement and she always starts it!  
  
Athena: I do not dispute your claim to the throne of Cliffhanger-dom. You will always be the queen! (Oh yeah and I'm not speaking to you until you update!)  
  
brooklynite: Thank you so much and I plan to update at 10:56 p.m. CDT on Wednesday May 8, 2002, but by the time you read this you won't really need to know that.  
  
Chapter Eleven  
  
When they got up the next morning they headed down the fire escape. When they reached the bottom, there was someone waiting at the bottom. It was the boy the other newsies called Spot.  
  
"Well, are the two of you ready to start sleeping in the lodging house, yet? I mean you've been sleeping up there for probably a month or so now."  
  
"How did you know we were living on the roof?" Cat asked.  
  
"I know everything that happens in my lodging house. I knew the day you girls moved in." Spot told them.  
  
Cat looked him over. "So whatcha gonna do about?"  
  
"Invite you to live indoors. It's fixing to get cold outside. I'd hate for the two of you to freeze. It wouldn't look good to the neighbors if I go around letting people die on my roof. So what do you say, wanna live indoors?"  
  
Cat looked at Mouse then turned back to Spot. "What do we have to do in return for a bed? We don't moonlight."  
  
"Pay just like any other newsie. I don't need favors from the two of you. It's five cents a night and you buy your own meals. I'll get you set up after we finish selling this afternoon. We meet down at the pier every afternoon after we finish. Don't be too late, I can't wait on you forever." Without saying goodbye Spot turned and walked away.  
  
Cat and Mouse looked at each other and shrugged. It wouldn't hurt to give it a try.  
  
***  
  
That afternoon the girls walked down to the pier and the place was filled with newsies. There had to be more newsies than the ones who stayed at the lodging house. The newsies were huge and tough looking. Cat stopped and asked one of the smallest newsies where Spot was.  
  
"End of the pier. I'll show you," he said pointing down the pier.  
  
"Thanks, kid."  
  
"No problem."  
  
Cat and Mouse followed the newsie down the pier until they reached a tall stack of crates where the head of the Brooklyn newsies was overseeing his territory.  
  
"Hey, Spot," the kid called up to him. "Got a couple a girls here to see ya."  
  
Spot hopped down from his perch and landed in front of them. "Well, hello again girls. It's good to see that you decided to join us. Come with me to the house and we'll get you set up. So what are your names anyway?"  
  
"I'm Cat and she's Mouse." Cat told him.  
  
"She can't answer for herself?" Spot asked.  
  
"She doesn't like talking to people besides me." Cat told him. "She's as quiet as a Mouse."  
  
"I see."  
  
The girls followed him silently to the lodging house. He took them up to the front desk. "Hey, Smitty! We got some new kids that need to be checked in."  
  
A man came out of a door behind the desk muttering, "Darn kids always waking me up from a good nap. What do you want, Spot?"  
  
"Like I said before, these are the new newsies for the joint," Spot reiterated. Smitty looked the two girls over.  
  
"Can't stay. Girls. Newsboy house, not a newsgirl house," Smitty muttered. "Can't stay here with boys. City'd have a fit."  
  
"So you don't tell the city that they're here," Spot told him.  
  
"Don't know, Spot. Could lose my job or something," Smitty said rubbing the back of his neck. "Can't have boys and girls living in the same room."  
  
"Well, we've got that extra room that Dodger is staying in. The girls can stay in there."  
  
Smitty seemed to think about then finally seemed to give in. "Where would Dodger go? Can't have boys and girls in the same room."  
  
"Uh, Smitty, Dodger's a girl, too," Spot said slowly as if to a child.  
  
"She is?"  
  
"Yes, she is."  
  
"Guess it's okay then. Have to sign in and pay." He gestured toward the registry book on the desk.  
  
"Just sign your nickname or whatever. It doesn't really matter." Spot told them. The girls signed in there names and handed the man 5 cents each.  
  
"Cat and Moose," Smitty read.  
  
"That's Cat and Mouse," Cat corrected.  
  
"Yeah, okay," Smitty mumbled.  
  
"Here, I'll show you where everything is," Spot told them. Spot showed them the washroom and the boy's bunkroom and finally he took them to the room that Dodger was kept in. Spot looked at Cat and said, "You already know where it is."  
  
He opened the door quietly and peeked in at Dodger lying on the bed. He then went in and said, "Hey Dodger, I got you a couple of new roommates."  
  
Dodger looked up as they came in. "Hey, it's you girls. How are you?"  
  
"We're good. How have you been?"  
  
"I'm okay. I just wish the doc would let me get up."  
  
"Well, I'm sure he'll let you get up as soon as he thinks it's okay." Cat placated the girl.  
  
"Yeah, I guess. Are you guys coming to stay at Brooklyn now too?" she asked.  
  
"Looks like it, kid."  
  
"Well, I'll leave you girls to get settled in and I'll see you later tonight." With that Spot turned and walked away.  
  
"So, Dodger, tell what you can about these newsies, especially the Brooklyn ones," Cat told her, sitting down on the edge of the bed.  
  
"Well, I don't know much about the boys in Brooklyn but the Manhattan boys are great. One or two of them come over every couple of nights after they finish selling and check on me to make sure the Brooklyn boys don't bother me. Sometimes they even bring Beauty to see me. Beauty's my cat."  
  
"By the way, why were you coming to find me the other night, anyway?"  
  
Dodger blushed and became very interested in the sheet on the bed. "Well you see, there's this boy at the Manhattan house and well I like him. I don't think he likes me though. I wanted to ask you if you could tell me how to get him to like me."  
  
Cat and Mouse shared a smile over the little girl's head. "So tell me about this boy."  
  
"Well, he's tall and he has blond hair. He wears glasses and he's so handsome. His name's Dutchy and he brings scraps back for Beauty and once he caught me when I fell off Horace's head."  
  
"Who is Horace and why were you on his head?"  
  
"Horace is the statue in Newsie Square. I climbed on his head to see if I could get up there. I do things like that all the time; it's fun."  
  
"Walking to Brooklyn by yourself and getting beat up. Falling off statues, it sounds you need a keeper."  
  
"That's what Jim used to say." Dodger told them, smiling.  
  
"Who's Jim?" Cat said thinking of Jim Harvey in Boston.  
  
"He was my boss, back when I was a pickpocket. I used to get into a lot of trouble back then, but I didn't get caught. Well, one time I did, but that was different."  
  
"You were a pickpocket, kid."  
  
"Yep."  
  
"Me, too. I worked in Boston before we moved here a month ago."  
  
"Wow, did you get to do house work, too?" Dodger asked, referring to breaking into houses.  
  
"Sure, I was getting too old to be a good pick pocket. The best pickers are little kids with small hands. I bet you were good at it."  
  
"It's all in picking the right victim," Dodger told her.  
  
"That's right!"  
  
"Why did you get out of it?"  
  
"Well, I got kicked out of the gang I ran with after my boss died and his second-in-command took over. Me and Mouse came here and she wouldn't let me steal anymore."  
  
"Yeah, I got caught stealing from David, he's a newsie, too. His brother, Les and my friend Smarts are good friends. Jack caught me and he asked me if I wanted to be a newsie. So he made me stop as soon as I started selling."  
  
"Well, it's probably for the best. Most thieves get caught eventually anyway. At least you didn't have to go to jail."  
  
"Well, I did have to go to jail once. I stole from a street vendor one day and well I'm not very good with that kind of work. I got caught and they put me in the Refuge."  
  
"The Refuge." Cat's head snapped in Dodger's direction. "Did you say the Refuge?"  
  
"Yeah. They put me in there after I got caught."  
  
"Where is the Refuge?" Cat asked, anxiously.  
  
"Over in Manhattan. I don't know where exactly but one of the boys probably does. Why do you ask?"  
  
"No reason. Listen Mouse and I need to get our stuff off the roof. We'll be right back, okay."  
  
"Okay." Cat went out the window followed by Mouse.  
  
"Cat, we don't have anything on the roof, why do we have to go up there?"  
  
"Cause, I know you don't like to talk in front of other people so I wanted to make sure that it was okay with you if we stay here."  
  
"It's fine. Like Spot said, it's fixing to get cold out here."  
  
"Yeah, listen, I may be gone again tomorrow but this should be over soon."  
  
"I guess that's fine." Mouse sighed.  
  
  
  
A/N: Ok that was a loooooong chapter, at least for me it was! Anywho I'll be taking a break for the rest of the week/weekend, cause I'll be out of town. So I'll see you on Sunday night or so! I'll be back soon. 


	13. Cat's Past

A/N: Another chapter down! Hey I have a tidbit to share. I was watching Newsies (I know. I know that happens so rarely) NE way…the rally scene at Irving Hall – they're singing and it's towards the end of the song. The camera is cutting back and forth between Medda and the boys…you know, Medda: "and I stick out my chest" boys: "and I stick out my chest" ect. Well in this scene there is a twin occurrence Swifty is standing behind Medda; the camera cuts to the boys he's standing behind Race; cut to Medda and he's behind Medda; cut to the boys, he's gone! Dun, dun, dun. It's the case of the two Swiftys! Anyway I know I probably not the only one who's spotted this but I've never seen it mentioned on a bloopers page so I thought I'd say something about it.  
  
Anyway, responses:  
  
Moth: Dodger's about nine or ten. I haven't mentioned that in this fic, but I said it in Smarts and Dodger, my fic about her and her friend Smarts (who hasn't shown up in this fic…yet!) btw, before you ask…the way Dodger feels is one-sided and just a crush…no cradle robbing in my fics!  
  
Athena: Now I will commence speaking with you!  
  
Chapter Twelve  
  
The next morning the girls woke up before the boys did and rushed to use the washroom before the boys could get up. They rushed through washing up. Cat and Mouse went back to their room just as the boys surged into the washroom.  
  
When they walked in they noticed that Dodger was sitting up in bed.  
  
"Good morning," she said, smiling.  
  
"Good morning," Cat said as she bent to tie her shoes. "Hey, you were talking about staying that Refuge place: when were you there?"  
  
"Oh, about six months ago." Six months, that was about the right time.  
  
"Did you happen to know a girl, in there, named Bridget? She had red hair and green eyes. She would have been about your age."  
  
"Yeah I knew her, but she went by the name of Bridge. I thought it was after the Brooklyn Bridge but maybe it was short for Bridget. We were friends." Dodger told her, her face lost its perpetually happy expression.  
  
"Do you know what happened to her?" Cat asked, nervously.  
  
"Oh, well, you see it's bad in the Refuge and one night, Bridge and me decided to break out. At that time her sentence had already been extended three more months. We, well, we broke out but just as we got outside the walls the bulls sounded the alarm. They chased us through the streets and down alleys. We were running out of this one alley into the street and as we ran across the street, a carriage was headed towards us. It ran Bridge down and well…" Dodger looked down at her hands. Cat knew the end of the story. She had seen it several times. Cat's eyes filled with tears and lump filled her throat.  
  
"I see. Well thanks for telling me, Dodger. I'll…I'll see you guys later. Mouse, I'm not selling today." Cat ran out of the room almost trampling a newsie as she rushed out of the building.  
  
Cat didn't stop running until she reached the river she collapsed on the bank and looked out at the muddy waters. Tears streamed down Cat's face as she watched the river roll by her. She heard footsteps heading toward her but didn't look up. The footsteps stopped then the person sat down beside her.  
  
"What's going on, Cat?" Mouse asked. "Who is this girl, this Bridget?"  
  
Cat sighed and wiped the tears off her face. "She was my sister."  
  
"What? I didn't know you had a sister."  
  
Cat just nodded.  
  
"Do you want to talk about it?"  
  
Cat stared out at the river again. "I…I guess so. It all started when I was nine years old. As long as I could remember my family lived in Atlanta, Georgia, but one day my dad lost his job. My dad had an offer for a job in Boston so my parents, and I went to Boston to live there. Mama and Daddy didn't want to have to worry about my sister while they were finding a place to live and getting settled, she was just three years old so we left her with my aunt and her Yankee husband in New York, they were rich, they had servants and everything. Well, we had just gotten settled in and we got a letter that my aunt had died in a house fire and her husband had put my sister in an orphanage in Manhattan. He didn't want to have to bother with her so he just abandoned her in an orphanage. Mama and Daddy were angry and took off New York to get her. The train they were on derailed and crashed killing everyone of board. I was put out on the street and well; you know my story from there."  
  
"So how did you know that she was in the Refuge when Dodger was? I thought she was in an orphanage." Mouse asked.  
  
"Oh, well those days I went off by myself I was hunting her down. I went to my aunt and her husband's house and found out he had died. A servant, who worked in the house when my sister was there, was able to tell me which orphanage she had been sent to. I went to it and they told me that she had been sent to the Refuge when she had been deemed a problem child. That's how I knew she had been there." Cat stopped and looked down at the ground. The two girls sat there in silence for a long time.  
  
After a minute Mouse spoke up, "Well, I don't know what it's like to lose a sister, but I - I'm so sorry, Cat."  
  
"At least," Cat stopped as a lump filled her throat. "At least she's with Mama and Daddy. Don't you think?"  
  
"I'm sure she is."  
  
  
  
A/N: WOW I'm not sure where this all came from. Sad depressing stuffs…not my usual style. (Well only in fics, real life is a different story!) NE way…review, review, review! I will not post till I get five…mwahahahahahahaha…blackmail at it's finest! 


	14. Cat's Way of Grieving

A/N: As usual thanks for the reviews.  
  
Responses:  
  
Moth: Thanks, but what were you wrong about?  
  
Ice Dancer: To tell you the truth, I originally planned for Cat and Dodger to be sisters, but that just goes to show you that things don't always turn out the way you plan!  
  
Athena: I wrote…hope you like it. Oh and btw you're still evil!  
  
Chapter Thirteen  
  
The next morning Mouse woke up at her usual time. She got out of bed, sleepily and trudged to the washroom, expecting Cat to follow her. She finished quickly before the boys could invade. She had gotten back to the bedroom she shared with Cat and Dodger before she realized that Cat hadn't followed her to the washroom.  
  
Cat lay on her stomach fast asleep. Mouse leaned over and poked her in the side. Cat grumbled and rolled over to face the wall, in the opposite direction of Mouse.  
  
"Cat," she hissed. "Time to get up. The boys have already beat you to the washroom, you'll have to wait for all of them to get through."  
  
"Not getting up," Cat muttered.  
  
"You have to get up. We have to sell today. Come on get up." Mouse didn't understand. Cat was usually awake before she was. Cat loved mornings and she had begun to like selling "papes".  
  
Cat groaned rolled back over and blearily got out of the bed. She slipped her clothes on and put her shoes on her feet. She walked to the door then turned back to Mouse.  
  
"I'm not selling today. I'll get one of the boys to sell with you so you won't be alone. I have to be by myself today." With that Cat turned and walked out of the room. Mouse stared after her. Her heart ached for Cat and all that she was going through. She hoped that time alone would help Cat heal.  
  
***  
  
That night Cat walked into the lodging house hours after dark. Blood dripped from her busted lip and oozed out of a cut on her cheek. It was late enough that the boys were already upstairs in bed. She signed the register and left five cents on the desk for Smitty. She crept up the stairs; barely avoiding the creaky step she had discovered the day before. She tripped over the last step but righted herself with little noise. She headed towards the girls' room. She opened the door and tiptoed inside. She walked to her bunk and stripped down to her underclothes. She lay down on the bed and folded her hands behind her head.  
  
"Cat," she heard Dodger hiss through the darkness.  
  
"Yes," Cat whispered back.  
  
"Where did you go today?"  
  
"Everywhere and nowhere," Cat answered cryptically.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Never mind."  
  
"Anyway, the doc came by and I get to go back to Manhattan soon. I get to go home." The last phrase faded out as Dodger slipped off to sleep.  
  
Home, Cat thought. I haven't had a home in a long time. With that depressing thought Cat also drifted off to sleep.  
  
***  
  
That morning Cat woke up to an exclamation of, "What happened to your face?"  
  
Cat squinted up at Mouse. "Ran into someone's fists. Repeatedly. My ribs ran into them too."  
  
"What happened?" Mouse demanded. She was inordinately loud, so loud that she woke Dodger who also looked at Cat.  
  
"What happened to you, Cat?" Dodger asked. She was surprised for two reasons. The first was that Cat was hurt and the second was that Mouse had actually talked. Dodger had never heard Mouse talk before.  
  
"I had a disagreement with a unpleasant individual. He wanted me to do something that I didn't want to do."  
  
"What?" Dodger asked.  
  
"He wanted me to get out of his way. I didn't want to." Cat told them.  
  
"So, in other words, you went looking for a fight," Mouse said converting to mother-hen mode.  
  
"Don't nag. My head is killing me."  
  
"You smell horrible. Are you hung over? Did you go out and get drunk last night?"  
  
"No I did not go out and get drunk last night." Cat said matter-of-factly. "I did go out and get drunk yesterday afternoon, but I must admit that I was still drunk last night."  
  
Cat got out of bed and headed towards the washroom. "We'd better hurry if we're going to beat the boys to the washroom. I didn't get to wash up yesterday that plus the alcohol makes me smell like a dead horse's behind."  
  
THE END  
  
A/N: Yes I actually mean that. It is the end, but have no fear (Brooklyn's here-sorry couldn't resist) I will be continuing Cat and Mouse's story…just in a new fic, probably called Cat and Mouse Invade Manhattan. The story I have written so far is just too long for just one fic so I decided to make it two. Anyway feel free to express your happiness or displeasure with this turn of events by hitting the little purple button.  
  
That One.  
  
l  
  
l  
  
l  
  
l  
  
V 


End file.
